'Jack the Giant Slayer' #1 with a Modest $28.0 Million

Warner's Jack the Giant Slayer debuted in first place this weekend with an estimated $28.0 million. While the Bryan Singer directed fantasy film debuted towards the higher end of expectations and won this weekend's box office race with ease, the film's domestic start was obviously still a very disappointing one given the expensive price tag of the film. Furthermore, Jack the Giant Slayer opened 7 percent softer than the $30.18 million start of last year's John Carter (drawing comparisons to John Carter at the box office is never a good thing) and 22 percent softer than the $35.87 million debut of 2008's 10,000 B.C.

One positive sign for Jack the Giant Slayer was that the film held up very well throughout the weekend; a sure sign that the PG-13 rated film is appealing to family audiences. After opening with $7.72 million on Friday, the film increased 56 percent on Saturday to gross $12.07 million and went on to generate an opening weekend to Friday ratio of 3.63 to 1. That is a positive sign going forward, as is the film's B+ rating on CinemaScore. However, Jack the Giant Slayer will face major competition next weekend for family audiences when Disney's Oz: The Great and Powerful enters the marketplace on Friday.

The audience breakdown for Jack the Giant Slayer skewed towards male moviegoers (55 percent) and towards moviegoers over 25 years old (56 percent). The film grossed $3.37 million from 317 IMAX locations, which represented 12 percent of the total weekend gross.

Jack the Giant Slayer grossed $13.7 million overseas this weekend from 10 territories in Asia. Grosses included $4.9 million in Korea, $1.5 million in Malaysia, $1.5 million in Thailand and $1.5 million in Taiwan.

Universal's Identity Thief claimed second place with an estimated $9.7 million and in the process became the first release of 2013 to reach the $100 million milestone. Identity Thief reached the milestone in 22 days and has now grossed $107.4 million through 24 days of release. The successful comedy starring Jason Bateman and Melissa McCarthy continued to display strong holding power as well, as it was down just 31 percent from last weekend.

Relativity's 21 and Over debuted in third with an estimated $9.0 million. The R-rated comedy opened below wide-spread expectations, though it should be noted that the film's production budget was a modest $13 million. Compared to previous recent R-rated comedies released in time for spring break, 21 and Over debuted 57 percent softer than the $21.05 million start of last year's Project X and 36 percent softer than the $14.02 million debut of 2010's Hot Tub Time Machine. Going forward, 21 and Over will hope to display holding power more along the lines of Hot Tub Time Machine than that of Project X. The audience breakdown for 21 and Over was evenly split between genders and skewed heavily towards moviegoers under 25 years old (73 percent). 21 and Over received a B rating on CinemaScore.

The Last Exorcism Part II opened within shouting distance of 21 and Over with an estimated fourth place take of $8.0 million. The low-budget PG-13 horror sequel from CBS Films debuted on the low end of expectations. The Last Exorcism Part II nearly matched the $8.19 million debut of last weekend's Dark Skies, but opened a lackluster 60 percent softer than the $20.37 million debut of 2010's The Last Exorcism. There is little doubt that the largely negative reaction to The Last Exorcism took a toll on its sequel. Dark Skies and The Last Exorcism Part II opening so close together also appears to have hurt both films a bit as well. The Last Exorcism received a C- rating on CinemaScore.

Snitch rounded out this weekend's top five with an estimated $7.7 million. The Dwayne Johnson vehicle from Lionsgate and Summit fell three spots and a respectable 42 percent from last weekend. Snitch has grossed $24.4 million through ten days of release, which is in line with expectations and places the film 9.5 percent behind the $26.96 million ten-day take of 2006's Gridiron Gang.